During this era of police reform, de-escalation training is one of many hot topics that are being discussed and highly embraced by law enforcement professionals as well as the community. De-escalation and response to resistance techniques have the potential to help prevent the need to use force in many encounters between police and community members.
As with many issues in law enforcement, the entire concept of de-escalation and the use of force is complex. Every day, law enforcement officers across Minnesota and the nation deal with challenging encounters on the job. Most of these incidents result in successful and peaceful non-forceful resolutions, although some don’t always go smoothly — especially when dealing with a combative and uncooperative individual.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Center for Police Research and Policy (UC) recently published guidelines on how to begin evaluating an agency’s de-escalation practices. These guidelines were developed using versions of the Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training program by a multi-disciplinary group including police officers, attorneys, and subject-matter experts and are designed for police leaders interested in assessing and enhancing their agency’s capacity to implement, evaluate, and monitor de-escalation training and policies.
As a police officer for many years, I can attest that police officers would like to avoid the need to use force whenever possible, although there are times when force is necessary to resolve a situation and avoid an escalation of an incident which could lead to a dangerous outcome including a critical incident.
An important component of effective de-escalation of an incident is training, and a cornerstone of good training is stressing the importance of communication that involves the incorporation of physical practice and scenario-based role-playing exercises in all areas of law enforcement operations.
Just recently, Force Science achieved national certification and international recognition for their Force Science courses thru the National Certification Program (NCP) of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST). The course will cover many aspects of human psychology, police tactics and techniques, and negotiation strategies.
Register Today!
Registration for Force Science Institute Realistic De-escalation Training workshop is now open at lmc.org/22policeworkshop. This workshop has been approved for eight hours of POST credits for conflict management/mediation.
This workshop will be held at two locations, and the course fee has been reduced to $50 for LMCIT members (the fee for non-members is $295).
- Sept. 27 (8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.), Hero Training Center, Cottage Grove
- Sept. 28 (8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.), The Park Event Center, Waite Park
Additional information can be found here and registration questions can be directed to Carlie Derouin, event coordinator, at (651) 281-1258 or cderouin@lmc.org.
If you have any questions about the content of this training opportunity, you may contact me at tstille@lmc.org or give me a call at (651) 215-4051.
Remember: Responder Safety = Public Safety
In the meantime, stay safe and be careful -
Tracy
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